American Shakespeare Center

Why is there a Shakespeare theater in Virginia? The Commonwealth owes a cultural debt to the English that dates to the Virginia Company of London colonizing Virginia. In the heart of the Shenandoah Valley in historic Staunton, the 300-seat Blackfriars Playhouse is the world’s only re-creation of Shakespeare’s indoor theater. The product of years of research, this unique historically accurate performance space provides the perfect backdrop for the American Shakespeare Center’s Elizabethan staging practices and attendees may participate in tours, lectures and camps.